


The Maiden Who Would be Fed to a Dragon

by neierathima



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-20
Updated: 2012-03-20
Packaged: 2017-11-02 06:14:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/365844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neierathima/pseuds/neierathima
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of Arthur and Merlin, told as a fairy tale. Always a girl!Merlin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Maiden Who Would be Fed to a Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> This is only very loosely based on a fairytale from a book I had quite a long time ago and can no longer find. I'm keeping the bits I do remember and making up the rest as I go along. And throwing in some other random stuff. If you recognize the story I’m taking liberties with, congrats. 
> 
>  
> 
> Beta’d by the very awesome ￼significantowl, who provide needed criticism and also caught a ton of grammar errors. If there are any left, blame me.

A long time ago in a land very far away there was a kingdom, with a castle and a very beautiful princess and all of the usual sorts of things. This isn't about her. This is about a small village in the next kingdom over, and a girl who lived there. Merlin, as the girl was called, was stick-thin and pale, gawky with big ears, too tall for a proper girl, and not prone to thinking things through all the way. She was also kind, brave, and a bit magical. 

As it happened, that kingdom was ruled by a King who had long ago fell into some trouble with a sorceress, and as a result ended up with a bit of a dragon problem. He couldn't kill the dragon, but he could, and did, lock it away in a mountain castle with his only son to guard it. The king hated magic as a result, and banned it everywhere in the kingdom except in the castle, where he used it to keep the dragon caged. As long as the dragon survived, so too did his kingdom, and to keep that dark bargain the king was willing to order his people to provide one maiden a year for the dragon's appetites. And every day the king hated himself more. 

That bit of history is important, because it so happened that year it was the responsibility of Merlin's village to provide a maiden for the dragon. Of course, it's generally understood that the maiden in question is supposed to be beautiful and innocent and all of those other virtues. Merlin didn't exactly fit all of the criteria, but when she found out her best friend Will's little sister (who _did_ fit) had lost the lottery, she elected to take the girl’s place. And it was this brave action which marked Merlin's first step towards her destiny. 

It's one thing to know, abstractly, that a magical castle is occupied by a prince who is supposed to be brave, handsome, and an excellent knight who has dedicated their life to keeping an evil dragon locked up. It is a different thing entirely to travel halfway across the kingdom, leaving your home and family behind to meet an unkind fate, only to be stuck waiting at the gates for hours to be greeted by a filthy, rude prince with a bad attitude. This is all by way of saying that Merlin can probably be forgiven for what happened next. 

"Well, the quality of beautiful maidens is really going down in this kingdom, isn't it?" 

Merlin was shocked for about three seconds, at which point she remembered Will's lessons and punched the prat (royal or no) in the face. He was so surprised she got away with it the first time; unfortunately he managed to twist her arm behind her before she could land the second one. 

"Is that anyway to treat a prince, milady?" 

And the way he said that just made her want to hit him again. She settled for digging her heel into his shin, ducking away when he loosened his grip. They stood across the courtyard from each other, both panting with exertion. The prince cocked his head at her. 

"What's your name?" 

She figured it wouldn't hurt as she was going to get eaten anyway. 

"Merlin." 

The prince nodded. 

"Well Merlin, there's something about you. I can't quite put my finger on it. Come on then, I'll show you to your rooms. They aren't the best, but it'll do for three weeks." 

He'd already started walking, and she had to rush to catch up with him. He didn't even offer to help her with her bag. Prat. 

"Wait. Three weeks? I figured I'd just go ahead and get it over with now, if it's all the same to you." 

He stopped abruptly, turning to stare at her. Merlin had a brief moment of satisfaction that his eye was bruising nicely. 

"Do you mean nobody has explained it to you?" 

Merlin frowned. One maiden, one dragon, one meal. Maybe two if she was well cushioned, which Merlin most certainly was not. She didn't see how that required any explaining. 

"I can see no one has. The dragon only eats you if you don't pass the three tests. One on each Sunday for three weeks." 

She considered that carefully. 

"So I might not get eaten after all? And then I can go home? That's great, tell me what the tests are, and I can prepare for them." 

The prince rolled his eyes and started walking again. 

"It doesn't work like that. I can't tell you what the tests are until it's time to face them. Anyway, here's your room. There's a suite with a bath, and food will be brought up to you. Don't go wandering around, you might be hurt. I'll come get you when it's time for the first test." 

She stuck a foot in the doorway before he could close it on her. 

"Wait. I mean, if I'm going to be hanging around for three weeks, can't I at least get your name? So I don't have to call you Prince Prat? Though I might do that anyway." 

The prince was favoring her with an expression she couldn't even begin to place. 

"Arthur. My name is Arthur. Now move your bloody foot." 

She moved it, and then she was alone in her rooms. 

Merlin had come on a Monday, which meant she had an entire week to fret about the first test. She hadn't brought any of her knitting with her to work on, and she was, frankly, bored out of her mind before night had even set on the first day. After supper was brought up - she didn't know how, she only stepped into the bathroom for a second - and she finished eating, she decided to go wander the castle. As long as she didn't run into Arthur, she figured there would be no problem. 

While she didn't run into the prince, she did manage to get herself lost in the maze of corridors underneath the castle. She was about to turn back when she heard muttering from the half-open door at the end of the hall. Curious, she walked over, pushed the door open all the way and stepped inside...

...and came face to face with the dragon. 

It wasn't actually as big as she'd expected, its head looking to be only about half Merlin's height. It was also lovely, bright red with gleaming gold accents, delicate wings folded behind it and a spiked tail that curved elegantly around the table it sat behind. She had the absurd thought that it would be better to be eaten by this beauty than be stuck spending three weeks with His Royal Pratness. 

She was shocked out of her thoughts when the dragon started talking. 

"Well, you're already in, you might as well come have a seat." 

So Merlin took a seat at the table. Laid out on the table was an elegant chess set, the black side done up as dragons with ebony and the white side a king's court in ivory. The pieces were bigger than Merlin's hand and she tried not to think how much such a thing cost. They sat there, staring at each other, before the dragon gestured at the board. 

"Well? You're white, you start." 

They played silently for a while and Merlin found the dragon to be a terribly difficult opponent. Eventually, she lost, and the dragon chuckled at her as she frowned at the board. She transferred her frown to it. 

"It's not very nice to laugh at someone you've just beaten like that." 

The dragon stopped laughing, sketching a short bow with its head. 

"My apologies, my lady, it's only that I haven't had such good company in a very long time and I'm enjoying myself immensely." 

Merlin couldn't help her grin. 

"Well I suppose that's okay then. And I'm enjoying myself as well. Though if we could do something other than play chess as I really don't need to get slaughtered again." 

The dragon laughed again, but agreed, and they spent the rest of the night talking. Merlin found the dragon to be both interested in her and interesting to listen to. After a quick set of preliminaries - her history, which was boring, and its, which it carefully avoided - they settled on, of all things, the position of nobility in the kingdom. The dragon was in favor of a strong nobility as a necessity to support a strong monarchy. When Merlin pointed out that monarchy was the reason it was locked up in here, the dragon only pointed out that in the hands of a scared, uneducated peasantry it would probably be dead. 

The discussion went on through the night, but when threat of first light crept up on them, the dragon ordered Merlin away. She protested but it insisted. Finally she left, with one last 'I'll be so bored' behind her. 

Back in her room, she fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed, and stayed that way for several hours. When she woke, there was a meal laid out on her table, and a new door in the wall. When she opened it, she found a small but very well stocked library. Forgetting about the food entirely she dived in, rummaging through the stacks until she found at last the perfect thing, a book of magic. 

That night after dinner, she made her way again to the dragon's room. It was waiting for her, chess board set up again. Without waiting to be asked she sat. 

"You didn't say I could come again tonight, but I figured since you enjoyed yourself you wouldn't mind." 

They played another round of chess (Merlin losing again, though not quite as badly) and then spent the rest of the night talking. Once again the dragon sent her off before first light, this time with a piece of entirely unsolicited advice. 

"Put down the books tomorrow and get some sun, you look like a ghost." 

Merlin slept, waking again around noon. She pored over the book of magic while she ate. After she bathed she was about to pick up her studies again, but she figured that, aside from eating people, a dragon probably gave pretty good advice so she decided to wander around outside instead. She found her way to a walkway around the second story of the castle which overlooked a courtyard. 

Leaning over the wall, she could see Prince Arthur training against men in armor. As he hit one, running it through, another rose to take its place, and when he'd gone through the entire circle and the first one rose again, she realized they weren't actual men but suits of armor brought to life. The prince worked until he was almost falling over before ordering the armor to stop. Obediently, the armor walked itself back to the armory. For a brief moment he looked completely weighed down, all trace of arrogance gone. So moved by it she had to look away, Merlin didn't see Arthur glance up at the second story walkway. 

The rest of the week passed more or less the same, Merlin spending her nights with the dragon, her days studying and, occasionally, running into Arthur, at which point she seemed to end up insulting him. Or he insulted her. On Saturday night, her last before the first challenge, she ended up losing the chess match abysmally because she could not concentrate. 

"And then he _reminded_ me that the first challenge was tomorrow. As if I'd forget something like that!" 

The dragon had been mostly silent on the subject of the prince, but now it laughed. 

"Oh, is he really that bad?" 

Merlin sighed, pushing away the tail that had been trying to steal one of her knights. 

"Yes. Honestly, he's a beast. He'd make a much better evil dragon than you. And you'd make a much better prince. Maybe you could switch places, I doubt anyone would notice." 

The dragon was looking thoughtfully at her. 

"Do you really mean that?" 

Merlin raised an eyebrow. 

"That no one would notice? Well, I suppose there might be a spell..." 

"Not that. About me being a better prince?" 

"Of course I do. You're great. You care about people, even though they all think you're evil, and you don't like those stupid laws against magic. And you think about things. Arthur doesn't think about anything but whacking things with swords and how fluffy he can get his hair." 

That was the end of the conversation, as the dragon forced her to leave early so she would be awake for the challenge. While Merlin protested, she was glad of the extra time to sleep, because Arthur came to fetch her shortly after dawn. 

They ate breakfast together, extremely awkwardly because Merlin couldn't eat for nerves and Arthur didn't seem to know how to act around her anymore. Finally, they finished and Arthur led her outside to a fence beside an open field. Leaning against the fence were two bows and a quiver of arrows. Arthur handed her one bow and took the other himself. As he did, he pointed out a hawk circling the field. 

"Do you see that hawk? The first test is to bring her down. You may choose whether to go first or second, but if I successfully take her down, you lose." 

Merlin let him go first, not knowing how she was expected to succeed. She was a terrible hunter. As she watched, Arthur took aim. It was only because she was watching him so closely that she saw his elbow jerk at the last second. The arrow missed the bird by only a few inches, and Arthur turned back to her. He didn't look near as disappointed as she would have expected. 

"To pass the first test you must still bring down the hawk." 

She very clumsily took aim at the sky. Then she had an idea. She lowered the bow, shooting out into the field, hitting perfectly a rabbit that had fled its burrow only to freeze upon her whispered word. Seeing the easy prey, the hawk swooped, talons scraping the ground as it scooped up the kill. 

Merlin set her chin, ready to argue, but the prince was nodding thoughtfully at her. For some reason the look seemed familiar to her. 

"Very well. You've passed the first test. You have one week until the next one." 

Then he stalked away, tension in every line of his body. Merlin ran to catch up with him. She grabbed his shoulder, not expecting the raw emotion on his face when he turned around. 

"What?!" 

"You could have won. I mean, you could have hit the bird, but you didn't." 

"She is a noble creature who does not deserve to be taken down for sport." 

Merlin and Arthur stared at each for another long minute until he walked off. This time she let him go. 

That night when she went to visit the dragon she was very silent, even in the face of his congratulations. She played absentmindedly, not even realizing it when the dragon let her win. It was only when it gently thumped her shoulder she seemed to focus entirely. 

"You won the challenge already. What could be using up all of that brainpower tonight?" 

She stuck her tongue out at the dragon's teasing. 

"Nothing. It's just I'm not sure anymore that the prince is who I thought he was." 

Merlin invited the dragon to another round, playing with excessive vigor, and that was the last of their conversation that night. 

The next week probably would have gone exactly the same as the first but for the fact that on Wednesday, Merlin woke early to get started looking for a book she wanted to read. She woke to the sight of a young woman laying out her breakfast. They gaped at each other, until the woman made a break for the door and Merlin caught her. 

"Don't leave. Who are you? What are you doing in my rooms? How do you get into the rooms so fast? Are you magic, like the castle?" 

The girl looked like she might bolt again, then seemed to make up her mind to stay. 

"I'm Gwen. Well, actually, Guinevere, but everybody calls me Gwen. And uh, I bring your food every day. I work in the kitchens. Well, not just in the kitchens. Everywhere, really, there aren't that many of us." 

She seemed to realize what she'd said the same moment Merlin did. 

"Wait, there's more of you? How many? How long have you been here?" 

Gwen folded under Merlin's questions, and once she had them both sitting properly at the table eating breakfast, she explained. 

"There isn't that many. Just Arthur, you already met him. And Gaius, the physician. And Lancelot, my husband. He's a knight. And there's Morgana. That's it really, except when there's a new girl, like you." 

Merlin looked at her porridge waiting for the idea nagging at her head to crystallize. It came to her with her next sip of tea. 

"Wait a minute. You mean the Lady Morgana, the king's former ward? The first ever sacrifice to the dragon. She's alive? And if your husband is a knight, I'll bet he came to rescue you. The dragon doesn't eat the girls at all, does it?" 

Now Gwen looked even more nervous. 

"You can't say anything to anyone about it, especially not Arthur! None of the girls are supposed to know during the tests. Please, you must promise me you won’t tell Arthur." 

Merlin laid a reassuring hand on hers.

"Of course I won't tell that prat. It's not like he'd believe I figured it out anyway. But can I please meet the rest of you? I like studying, but I'm going mad with only Arthur and... the walls to talk to." 

She didn't tell Gwen about the dragon, figuring it would be safer to keep that secret. Gwen agreed to introduce her around they headed off, Merlin for once without her magic book. It was only when they were on their way that it occurred to her to ask about the other girls. 

"I mean, it's been years, where are all the rest of them?"

"Oh, they get sent to the next kingdom over. Arthur makes sure they're all properly taken care of. It's just, those of us who stayed, we like it here." 

"With Arthur?" 

The way she said it had Gwen giving her a scolding look. 

"It's hard for him. And he's not as bad as all that. Even if he is a bit of an arse sometimes." 

"Sometimes?" 

Gwen grinned at her and Merlin matched it.

"Ok," Gwen conceded, "rather a lot of the time." 

With her new friends to keep her company during the day, and the dragon to talk to at night, and armed with the knowledge that she was not, in fact, going to be eaten, Merlin quite enjoyed the rest of the week. She refrained from mentioning to the dragon that she knew, however, though she couldn't put her finger on just why she chose to keep quiet. 

The day of the second test started pleasantly enough, with a gentle mist broken by a bright sunrise. While still annoyed at having her chess match cut short (and she had been about to win, really she had) Merlin still woke feeling ready for the test. That all changed when she saw Gwen had laid out clothes obviously meant for doing something athletic. She dressed warily, meeting Arthur outside her door and following him out the castle to the edge of the forest. 

He offered her a pouch of food and a dagger. 

"There is a bridge out of the forest at the other end. The first person to cross it wins. If you haven't made it by nightfall, you forfeit." 

There were two paths into the forest and again he let her choose. She took the left one without really thinking about, and they headed off. Only an hour into the woods and she felt completely lost, both literally and figuratively. She had no idea where the path was or how to find it, and every spell she could think of that might possibly help had fizzled uselessly. She didn't even know if she was going the right direction anymore. Merlin sat down on a convenient log, pulling food out of the pouch. While digging around in it, she came across something that was most assuredly not food. 

Pulling it out, she saw it was a simple crystal hung on a leather cord. Wrapped around it was a scrap of paper that read 'good luck - Gwen'. Holding the crystal in the palm of her hand, she watched it glow slightly, then start pointing in the direction just a bit off from where she'd been walking. Stashing the food away quickly, she raced through the forest following the crystal guide. 

Sometime around midday a heavy rain began falling. Merlin kept pushing through it as best she could. The bridge was in sight when she heard a terrible screech and the sound of metal hitting something. She immediately rushed in the direction of the sound. It was Arthur, of course, attempting to hold off something big and toothy with only his dagger. The blade didn't seem to be able to pierce the creature even though the prince was making excellent hits. She must have made some noise because the creature and Arthur both turned to look at her. Immediately Arthur put himself between her and the beast. 

"Get out of here, you idiot. The bridge is nearby, cross it and you’ll be safe!" 

He probably meant to yell at her more but was distracted by the thing's claws. Instead of running, Merlin raised a hand and called up one of the spells she'd been reading about. It took several tries, and once she was distracted by the beast drawing blood, but eventually she got it right. With a sound like crackling lightening the blade glowed blue. After that it was over quickly, Arthur making short work of the beast. He was limping so Merlin ran up to give him a hand. 

"You are a complete fool. I told you to run." 

"Oh, some thanks I get for saving your hide." 

"It's not your job to save me." 

They bickered like that until they reached the bridge and then they stood before it, looking at each other. Arthur conceded first. 

"You should go. You defeated the creature and you must have been very close already to hear me in time to help." 

Merlin shook her head. 

"No. You were willing to hold it off until I got away safely, even knowing you'd lose. And besides, if it wasn't for the thing you definitely would have made it to the bridge before me." 

They stared at each other some more before Merlin cursed and pulled Arthur away from the tree he'd been leaning on. Holding him up with a hand around his back she started across the bridge. He tried to back away but couldn't without risking falling on his arse. 

"What do you think you're doing?" 

"Isn't it obvious? We both go across together." 

"But then it'll be a draw. That's the same as losing. Do you want to lose?" 

Merlin rolled her eyes and kept walking, forcing the prince to cross with her. 

"Of course not, but I'm not about to let you be a stubborn overly-noble jerk." 

That seemed to shut Arthur up. At the very end of the bridge, however, he threw all his weight into Merlin, propelling her forward and causing him to fall onto his injured leg. Merlin was up in an instant, helping him off the ground and calling him all manner of rude names. 

"What were you thinking? Are you actually trying to kill yourself?" 

The prince shook his head, pain forcing his breath to come out harshly. 

"No. You deserved to win." 

Merlin was all set to tell him exactly how dumb a plan it was but the prat decided to pass out. She was still cursing him when the others showed up to get him back to the castle. 

Gaius forbade Merlin from staying with the prince at night, but he allowed her to sit by his side for the three and a half days it took for him to wake. She didn't even get to visit the dragon, so exhausted from worry that she passed out the moment Gwen led her back to her rooms each night. 

Finally, on Thursday morning, Arthur woke. He was parched, voice coming out a soft croak. Merlin put down her book to hand him some water. When he was finally somewhat more awake, he gestured for her to lean closer. 

"What could you possibly be doing here?" 

His voice was utterly without courtesy, and Merlin found herself flushing in anger. She stomped off without a single word, so mad she left her book. That night when she visited the dragon she was still furious, losing three games in a row while she told it about the test and ungrateful princes who nearly died and couldn't be bothered with sense. The dragon let her complain without commentary while they were playing but afterwards gently directed her to a new subject. As she left that evening, the dragon actually asked Merlin to come the next night. It was a such a shock that she didn't notice that the dragon failed to walk her to the door that night, as it had every other. 

The rest of the week passed quickly. Merlin secluded herself in the library, trying to memorize every spell she could in preparation for the last test. She only had to pass one more and then she could go home. To make extra time she even found herself cutting the evenings with the dragon shorter. By Saturday night she was exhausted from pushing herself so hard that she fell asleep without going for her nightly visit. 

On Sunday morning, the day of the last test, she woke from a dream in which she was marrying Will, with the entire village looking on indulgently. Despite the fact that it was exactly the plan she'd had for her life since she was five, the dream left her with an odd taste in her mouth she couldn't shake. 

The unsettled feeling only became worse when she realized it was dawn and she hadn't seen the dragon the previous night. If everything went right today, she'd probably never see it again. Certainly the village wouldn't appreciate her wanting to go visit a dragon to play chess. Before she could work out what to do about it, Gwen had arrived to help her get dressed for the last challenge. 

Unlike the last two tests, this one was indoors, inside what was obviously meant to be a throne room. There was a single table with two chairs set across from each other, and nothing else. 

Arthur, along with Morgana, Lancelot, and Gaius, were waiting when Merlin and Gwen entered the room. The prince looked exceptionally angry that morning, and Merlin couldn't figure out why. He gestured Merlin to be seated, then took the chair on the other side. Gwen went to join Lancelot and Morgana, all three of them looking tense. 

Gaius laid two goblets on the table, each half full of wine. 

Merlin watched Arthur in horror as Gaius explained the rules of the final test. By the time he finished with, “ _Merlin, as you have won the last two tests, it is your right to pick which goblet to drink from,_ " the prince's face was grim, and Merlin wanted to shake him until he showed some real emotion. She frowned at both goblets, going over the rules again in her mind. It finally struck her how to deal with it. Picking up one goblet, she poured all of the liquid into a single goblet. She set it back down, looking into Arthur's shocked eyes. 

"There. Now all the liquid is one goblet, and one of us can drink and know that the poison has to be in there. That'll be me. " 

She reached for the full goblet but Arthur stopped her hand with his own. 

"Don't be stupid. It's poison, I can't let you do this." 

"You already nearly died for me once, that has to be enough. Besides, you had to know this could happen." 

Arthur looked pained. 

"Merlin. Nobody has ever gotten to the third test before. I didn't... Morgana!" 

He trailed off, staring at Morgana, who had collapsed onto the stone floor. When Merlin turned to see if she was ok, Arthur swiped the goblet and drank it down. As soon as he had collapsed, Morgana was back up, obviously not unconscious at all. Merlin spared a moment to be angry with her then ran to Arthur's side. He was convulsing badly, and Merlin pulled his head into her lap to make sure it didn't crack on the stones. She looked up at Gaius. 

"Can't you do something? All of this over a stupid test. Please, you have to help him, he can't die. I forfeit, just don't let him die." 

After that everything was a blur. Morgana and Gwen pulled her away from Arthur and back to her rooms. Merlin only caught a glimpse of Gaius bending over Arthur with a bottle in his hand. Inside her room, the door to the library was gone, as well as all her books. When she tried to open the door to the hallway, it was locked. She tried every spell she knew, on the door, the windows, the walls, and when none worked she beat at the door until her wrists hurt and her knuckles bled. Finally, as it was growing dark, she fell asleep slumped against the door. 

She woke when she felt herself being lifted onto the bed. It was full dark out, with only the moon shining into the window to shed light on the man walking away from her. Even in the dark, she recognized him. 

"Arthur. Don't go." 

She hated the way her voice came out sounding feverish and weak, but at least it made Arthur turn around and walk back to her. He sat next to her, carefully not closing the space between them. His expression was the same as it had been that first day, the one she couldn't place. The one that she still couldn't make sense of but seemed so very familiar, as if she could just remember where she'd seen it before everything would make sense. He looked at her awhile longer, then carefully, reluctantly, placed one hand on her cheek. 

"Merlin. Thank you, you have no idea." 

The touch, or maybe the words, were all she could stand because then she was grabbing him, pulling him down to press kisses all over his face. He tried to pull away but she didn't let him, getting him closer so she could run hands over every part of him and make sure he really was alive. Eventually, he pushed her down against the bed, holding himself away. 

"Merlin. Wait." 

Merlin might have pouted. Maybe. A little bit. Arthur shook his head, wearing a smile she had never seen on him before. 

"I just meant, are you sure?" 

She pulled him down for another kiss, using all her, admittedly limited, skill to show him just how sure she was. Then there were no more words. Well, except for when she accidently elbowed him the stomach and he called her a clumsy little thing. To which she replied that prats who couldn't find better things to do with their mouths than insult people weren't going to have any place to put their swords, if he knew what she meant. He did know, and he could think of better things, and then there really was no more talking. 

The next morning Merlin drifted towards consciousness to find her hand running over the injury on Arthur's leg. It wasn't a wound at all anymore, just a thick scar, not pale but burnished gold. Half-asleep the color seemed important but before she could puzzle out why she was asleep again. 

When she next woke it was to Gwen’s anxious hand on her shoulder. Arthur was gone. Merlin meant to ask Gwen about that, but she was in a hurry to get Merlin into a dress, far nicer than the ones she’d been wearing, and down to the throne room. Assembled in the room were all four of the others, each dressed very finely. For the first time Merlin saw Arthur the Prince, but she didn’t have time to contemplate it because Arthur was addressing her. 

“Merlin. You passed all three tests. You’re free to go home now. You should take Gwen and Lancelot with you. Gaius and Morgana will return with me to my father’s palace. No more maidens will ever be called for.” 

After he made the announcement he ordered the others to exit, leaving him alone with Merlin. She was too busy staring at him in shock to notice. 

So that was it, then? Three weeks, one night, and she was being sent away? Then something occurred to her. 

“Wait a minute. What about the dragon? What happens to it?” 

Arthur’s face was completely impassive and his tone was stiffly formal. Merlin hated it. 

“The dragon is gone.” 

At once Merlin was furious. She ran up to him, swinging wildly. He didn’t even try to stop her, just sneered at her, taking the blows like they didn’t even matter. 

“You killed it, didn’t you. You, you _slew_ him, didn’t you. That’s what princes do, isn’t it? They slay dragons. Never mind that he was good, and honest, and cared more about this kingdom than you ever possibly could, you horrible prat.” 

Finally he’d had enough, grabbing her wrists and pushing her away. She glared back at him. 

“It’s hardly any concern of yours. You’re leaving anyway. That’s what you’ve wanted the whole time. What did you think was going to happen, you’d take a weekend off to come visit your friend the maiden-eater?” 

There was so much loathing in that tone it made Merlin shake. Even if it was the same thing she’d been thinking, it sounded so much worse coming from his mouth. She set her chin, facing him again. 

“Maybe I would. He was my friend. And if I’d known you were going to kill him I’d have failed the tests on purpose. He never hurt anyone at all but I would have lost even if I hadn’t known that.” 

Arthur looked completely stunned and Merlin chose that moment to run. She fled through the corridors, not bothering to go back to her room, instead heading straight for the stables. There was already a horse prepared with tack and bags and she took off through the gates and down the mountain. 

It had started raining heavily by the time she found a place to make camp. She managed to get the tent set up and the gear inside. When she accidently let the horse loose it took off back up the mountain. Merlin tried to get a fire started underneath the cover of the trees but gave it up as a lost cause and dropped herself inside the tent, peeling off her ruined gown. She found fresh clothes, far more practical ones, inside one of the bags. When she let the shirt unroll the crystal necklace fell out. She pulled on the clothes then held the stone in her hand. It glowed, then whirled, stubbornly pointing towards the castle. Merlin frowned but slipped it on anyway. She sorted through the other packs, finding food and supplies, and in the last one, the magic book she’d found on her first trip to the library, the one that was still her favorite. Setting the book in her lap, she conjured up a ball of light to read by. And if at some point a few drops of water landed on the pages she only cursed Arthur for giving her a tent that leaked. 

She made her way safely home. By the time she arrived word was already spreading through the kingdom that the dragon had been vanquished. Though her village was joyful, Merlin flatly refused to hear anything about it, so it was with some surprise that she greeted the news Lancelot and Gwen brought to her almost a month later. 

“We’re traveling, looking for knights, both noble and peasant alike to serve under Arthur.” 

Merlin’s mother had made them dinner and then conveniently remembered something she had to do, leaving the three of them to catch up. Lancelot was now telling her all about Arthur reopening the castle and building a kingdom. 

“So he’s not going back to his father?” 

Lancelot shook his head. 

“He says he wants to make a kingdom that’s safe for magic users, so long as they follow the law. That they aren’t evil to be shunned, or tools to be used, just people with skills, no different than a knight who has a talent for the sword.” 

Merlin nodded in agreement. She had said something very similar, albeit less eloquent, to the dragon in one of their many arguments. She pulled the crystal necklace into her hand, fidgeting with it as she thought. 

“You still have that?” Gwen asked.

“Of course I do. I never got to thank you for it. So, you know, thanks, it saved me, really.” 

Gwen and Lancelot were sharing a look. Gwen seemed to be the one elected to speak. 

“Merlin. I’m not the one who gave it to you. I mean, I put it in the pouch, but Arthur just handed it to me and ordered me to make sure you had it for the second test.” 

Merlin could find no reply to that. Unsettled, she showed them to bed then fell asleep herself, still clutching the necklace. They had to leave the next day, and Merlin forced herself back into the routines of the village. Another few weeks went by, and Merlin came home from working in the fields to find Gaius sitting at the table having tea with her mother. Merlin stared a bit until her mother forced her to come sit down. 

“Now Merlin, you didn’t tell me you met Gaius while you were away. He’s an old friend of mine, and he thought he’d drop by to see if you were doing alright.” 

They ate dinner together, Gaius very carefully not mentioning Arthur and Merlin avoiding asking. When the topic shifted from Merlin’s magical studies (poor, as she had very limited time to work on them now) to Hunith and Gaius’ shared history, Merlin decided it was her turn to find somewhere else to be. She left the house with a faint sense of horror as they laughed together over another cup of tea. The next day Merlin woke early to see Gaius off. He gave her one last searching look before laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“He’s a good man, Merlin, and you’re a good woman. I’m proud to know the both of you.” 

And then Gaius was gone, and Merlin was alone. 

When another month rolled around Merlin was hardly surprised to see Morgana at her doorstep. She invited her in, making a pot of tea to drive away the autumn chill. Morgana sat silently for a long while before speaking her peace. 

“You have to come back. He’s pathetic without you.” 

Merlin’s tone was maybe a little uncalled for when she replied. 

“I hear he’s doing quite well for himself.” 

“Oh Merlin. He’s doing it _for_ you. Before you all he wanted to do was go home to his father and play knight. Now he really believes he can be a good king, that he can make a difference. That’s all because of what you told him.” 

“I hardly talked to him at all.” 

Morgana’s jaw dropped, and Merlin was briefly envious that she could be so lovely even when stunned. 

“You really have no idea, do you? That idiot. When he went to you that night, we’d all assumed he’d told you.” 

“Told me what?” 

“Merlin, did it never occur to you to ask why you only saw Arthur during the day and the dragon at night?” 

Merlin replayed a dozen conversations in her head: meetings and arguments, looks that were too familiar but which she knew she’d never seen before, knowledge about things she’d said to one but couldn’t remember telling the other. It all came together, tied up neatly with a single gold scar. She dropped the teacup, hearing it crash on the floor and not caring. Merlin focused back on Morgana.

“Why didn’t he say anything?” 

“He thought you wanted to go home. He didn’t want to pressure you to stay if it would make you unhappy.” 

“What pressure? Did he really think I would stay if I didn’t want to?” 

Morgana was looking at her intensely and Merlin wondered if she might not have a little magic of her own. 

“Merlin. Don’t you understand? The tests weren’t just for you, they were for him as well. Honor. Chivalry. Love. He just couldn’t know it or else it would be no test at all.” 

Arthur had passed all those tests and more. His refusal to kill the hawk. Saving Merlin, then allowing her to claim the victory. Drinking the poison once Merlin had solved the puzzle. She dropped her elbows on the table, burying her head in her hands. 

“But why? What was my prize if not to go home? He had his freedom, certainly, what was I supposed to get?” 

Morgana laid a gentle hand on Merlin’s shoulders. 

“Merlin. Most girls would _kill_ to marry a prince. That’s how it’s supposed to go. He assumed, we all assumed, that you would know that.” 

Merlin looked up at her, fierce determination on her face. 

“Fine. If that’s my prize, then I want it. I want my friend back.” 

She gave Merlin a piercing look and a warning squeeze with her hand. 

“Do you want your friend the dragon or your friend the prince?” 

Merlin accepted the question with a nod. 

“I want _both_. They were always the same, I just didn’t see. I didn’t want to see so I didn’t let myself. Only now I do understand, and I have to go back.” 

“It’s a good thing I brought two horses then, isn’t it?” Morgana asked with a smile. 

And return to the castle they did, where Arthur and Merlin greeted each other much as you might expect (with Merlin hitting Arthur and Arthur saying he didn’t know how he could be freed from the curse by such an idiot). There was a wedding, with all the usual sorts of things one might expect at the wedding of a King and very powerful Witch. 

So that’s how the story ends, but this is how it begins: 

Two lovers, newly married, curled around each other in bed. One turns to the other and says, you were wrong when you said the dragon never killed anyone. I did, when I was younger and couldn’t control myself. I need to tell you...

And the second lover turns to the first and says, I’m listening.


End file.
